RALPH J. COPPOLA
"I have always been interested
in science, in one form or another, but I think
that things really started when my uncle gave
me a Ford Model "T" spark coil. At first
I was content with producing arcs and burning
paper. But eventually my coil evolved into the
basis of a Marconi type spark transmitter which,
unfortunately, caused a LOT of static on our neighbours'
radios. Needless to say, my early interests were
in electronics and physics.
"It seems that I have been
messing around boats for most of my working life.
It started, years ago, when I helped Noah build
his ark. 8-) Actually, my beginnings were in the
ship building/repair field. Then after the few
years that I spent in the pulp and paper industry,
I joined the Canadian Coast Guard. I "carried
a tool box" for a while before being promoted,
in 1978, to the position of Maintenance Supervisor
with the responsibilities of maintaining our ship
board radar and navigation aids systems. In 1997,
I was asked to join the small engineering team
that was supervising the implementation of the
Canadian Coast Guard's Differential Global Position
System. " |
